Amniotic stem cells

Amniotic stem cells are stem cells taken from the amniotic fluid in the sac protecting the unborn child in the womb. Amniotic stem cells are as versatile as embryonic stem cells and as useful as adult stem cells, according to preliminary research. Amniotic stem cells have substantial advantages over embryonic stem cells.

Amniotic stem cells can be grown outside the body as quickly as embryonic stem cells, doubling as fast as every 36 hours.

Amniotic stem cells may be the most easily differentiated type of stem cell, and the easiest to obtain in large quantities. It simply requires extracting fluid from the womb, a procedure already done in nearly a million women in America and Europe each year. That is nearly ten times the amount needed to supply 99 percent of Americans' needs for perfect matches for transplants.